THE MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

This album has some flaws, and is not as satisfying as the others in the 70s. This is a concept album, and as the title implies, you will realize that it will sound medievalish , and very classical. It is, and Wakeman has succeeded in creating that atmosphere needed to 'feel' Arthur. A weakness has to be the vocalist, it could have been 4 stars with a better vocalist, since the compositions are very strong.

1. Arthur 7.5/10 : A very solid, bombastic and a bit pretentious opener of the album. After narration, The intro riff begins and is very memorable, and you would want to play it on your keyboard after hearing it. After the intro, the song is a very accessible keyboard driven song.

2. Lady of the Lake : Very pretty choral piece, with a pretty piano melody following.

3. Guinevere 7/10 : A Very decent and again, accessible song with pretty melodies, and good keyboard sounds.

4. Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight 7.5/10 : Pretentious? maybe, but You can't help but like this song. It creates imagery with its main string riff theme, and it contains one of the best synth solos Wakeman has ever written.

5. Merlin the Magician 9.5 /10 : Very challenging and insane piece. From the Lady of the Lake reprise, to the pretty piano melodies, to the simple yet effective bass line, to the brilliant moog synth soloing, to the ultra fast fun jam ... this song has it all, and it may be Wakeman's best composition along with Judas. It was rated #1 in Wakeman's site.

6. Sir Galahad 5/10 : the lady of the lake again!? This song is not as strong as the others, it seems less serious and more fun. The highlight of this is easily the echoey haunting chord progression.

7. The Last Battle 6.5/10 : You can hear themes from the other songs in this one, and it is an epic. There are some good parts scattered around. It doesn't keep my interest for its 10 minutes tho.

This album while its ending may be a little weak, is a very solid album, and can you imagine that Wakeman wrote most of this music while he was in a hospital because of a heart attack?

My Grade : C+